Dear Galena: I need some advice!! My roommate is overall really good to live with, but she keeps eating my food. I have offered her some of my stuff before out of kindness, but she took it as a sign to eat my stuff without permission. She will eat the last of my food and doesn’t offer to replenish it. I don’t want to be rude and I’m scared of confrontation, but it’s stressing me out because I don’t have the funds to feed both her and myself. Help!!

Dear Hungry Honors Student: Hi there! I understand that you are scared of confrontation and don’t want to be rude — there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m here to tell you that there are other ways to get around this so that it doesn’t cause harm to either of you. If you do not want to go up to her face-to-face, you can always begin to ‘hide’ your things from her so that she can’t access them as easily. I know this may seem like a difficult thing to do considering you could possibly be sharing your fridge with her, but it’s a discreet way to save some of your food without her knowing. If you have her contact information, send her a message explaining how you don’t appreciate her digging into your food more than what you have offered. You could start it by saying, “Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something that’s been bothering me for a while,” — just letting her know that it’s a serious situation. By doing it this way, you can avoid confrontation and fully express yourself. In this situation, you really want to say everything on your mind, especially since it affects you financially. It may lead to talking to her in person, but it won’t be as bad since you have already started communicating with her about the food-snatching. I hope that things work out and that you are able to use your funds the way you want to, so that you can continue to be successful moving forward. 

Wishing you the best,

Galena

Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOuZzL7o8i_S-MXyR_PPq9AqG9omQ5U7Pb9Ea9J9f8_huGtQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Edited by Abby Stetina | astetina@themaneater.com